{"id":8461,"date":"2020-01-17T08:07:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T08:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotravelblue.com\/?p=8461"},"modified":"2021-02-02T06:05:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T06:05:28","slug":"vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ayushtoursjaipur.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/17\/vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since I started traveling to further-flung places about a decade ago, I\u2019ve often felt a reluctance to go back to the same country or place twice.\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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I remember long, slow train journeys\u2014of the best kind\u2014and waking up to blood red skies wrapped in mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, I arrived along the Mekong, from Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and stayed overnight in the border town of Chau Doc. From my tin hut guesthouse room window I could see the launches crossing the river to ferry commuters and their motorbikes across, as the sun started to beat down intently on the corregated roof tops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there I moved on to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon\u2014as many locals seem to still call it) and joined a group tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, I went back to the South of Vietnam. To see the Mekong Delta, which I\u2019d only caught a glimpse of before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it worth it? And was it possible to travel responsibly there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Responsible<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Responsible Travel in Vietnam\u2019s Mekong Delta: Getting off the Beaten Path.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always believed that a key element of responsible travel is getting off the beaten path, so that we can spread our impact and benefit as tourists. Not only that, but I find that going off the beaten path makes for a far more memorable trip.Soul Travel Blog uses affiliate links throughout the site and in this post, which provide me with a small commission on products or services purchased through these links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first stop from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was to the Mekong Delta backwater town of Ben Tre. Just two and a half hours from HCMC by bus, this town is surprisingly overlooked by visitors and day trippers from the city\u2014most of whom seem to head to My Tho, or Can Tho, depending on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staying at a quiet\u00a0homestay<\/a>\u00a0outside of the town centre, I was plunged into another world. A world where walking or cycling around the nearby environs nobody spoke a word of english and everyone stared at us as pretty much the only foreigners around. That\u2019s when you know that you\u2019re somewhere where your money is going to be likely to be of benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from offering bicycles free of charge, the homestay also offered free kayaks, and I booked an hour\u2019s boat trip of the backwaters for about 150,000 Dong (6 USD). During that boat trip I saw one other foreigner. A contrast to my later experience outside Can Tho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Responsible<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The sleepy backwaters of the Mekong Delta near Ben Tre.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being in a town that was so un-developed for tourism did pose a few challenges. Namely communication when ordering food at anywhere outside of the homestay. Most Vietnamese restaurants are street food type setups. Each stand would sell one dish (and only one dish). At this point I wished I\u2019d read up more on the Vietnamese names for the different types of noodle dishes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My failsafe, Pho, is a common (and delicious) Vietnamese dish, but is usually eaten early in the morning for breakfast. So trying to find places serving it for lunch or dinner proved a bit more tricky. The result was eating a lot of surprise\u2014but healthy\u2014noodle soups, tasting mainly of fish paste! For that time I had to abandon being a vegetarian\u2014it was just a step too complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you feel inspired to go off the beaten track in Vietnam\u2019s Mekong Delta, you can find more information on the Homestay I stayed in.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exploring Can Tho\u2019s Floating Markets. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arriving in Can Tho provided a stark contrast to my experience in Ben Tre. I\u2019d come prepared for tourist crowds, but the crowds did not seem bad to me. What I did find (to my relief) was a whole street full of tasty street food with english translations available and even a vegetarian restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I booked to visit the floating markets the next day: Can Tho\u2019s most popular tourist attraction. Everywhere around town essentially offers the same package, and everyone goes to the same places so it\u2019s tricky to get \u2018creative\u2019 with this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Tho\u2019s best known floating Market is Cai Rang. It\u2019s also touted as being pretty touristy, which it is. Another floating market was also included (which seemed to be the case for most of the tours) which was sold as being not-touristy. The ironic thing was that all companies were selling the exact same tour. So taking all the tourists to the non-touristy spot? You get the idea as to what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Responsible<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The floating market at Cai Rang. Mango anyone??<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem with Tours in Can Tho.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t have anything against \u2018touristy\u2019, but I did have an issue with being sold a \u201cnon-touristy option\u201d that turned out to be more touristy than the touristy one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In hindsight, I would have preferred to stick with just the Cai Rang market\u2014where, by the way, we were served a delicious noodle breakfast from one of the food boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me explain my views on the market tour more. The tour included visits to villages (again sold as \u201cnon touristy\u201d)\u2014the reality was about 100 people at a time, from a variety of tour groups, were wandering around the same village. There must have been any number of villages nearby that would have benefited from having a couple of groups visit them instead of everyone being piled into the same one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had another issue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On asking the guide, I learned that none of the money paid for the tour was going to this village. The problem with tours, particularly ones booked through guest houses or hotels is that often fifty percent of the money goes to the agency coordinating the tour, a substantial amount to the hotel or guest house, and then the remainder goes to those who actually deliver the services: like tour guides, drivers and others involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the 850,000 Dong (37 USD) that 4 of us paid for the tour (so total 3,4 million dong \u2013 150 USD) our boat driver for the half day was paid a tiny total of 200,000 Dong or 8 USD including costs for boat fuel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n